De Fumo in Flammam
by demosthenes4815
Summary: AU. Peace. For Now. However, with the Avatar missing and the four nations reaching the pinnacle of their own prosperity, this delicate balance has been threatened. Will the powder keg ignite? Is the avatar really gone? Is there any hope for peace?
1. Prologue

_Author's Note: This is an Avatar AU and my first fanfic. I used the characters and many of the underlying concepts from the recently completed Avatar series and have manipulated them into a new plot. The title is Latin for "From the Smoke into the Flames". I hope you all enjoy it...please comment :D._

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters from it (which is a good thing b/c I could NEVER have written that Finale XD). They belong to Mike and Bryan.

The wind is raging, bolts of blue lightning strike the earth with thunderous might and precision. All has come to this…the culmination of years of planning, scheming, and posturing on this field. The king watches his orchestration unfold as fire flares, wind spirals, water flows, and the earth rises from nowhere to deal a devastating blow.

His musings are interrupted by an ambitious waterbender who sculpts a graceful yet ferocious tube of water and aims straight for him. He smirks as he propels himself upward, avoiding the stream with a backflip and creating an attack of his own on the recoil. The waterbender falls quickly, and the battle rages on as if nothing happened.

The king's triumphant victory is interrupted by the sight of the avatar in the corner of his eye. He still cannot believe that this is what is destined to defeat him…to destroy his years of planning. He aims a strong attack right for the unsuspecting "savior", but the avatar dodges it in time. The fight was on…the struggle of the century.

He aims another attack, but the avatar responds with a giant wall of earth and a scythe of ice. The king laughs at this simple attack and quickly counters it with a mid air flip and an impressive upward maneuver. "Is that all you've got?" the king asked tauntingly.

Below, the war raged on. On one side, the elite firebending corps directed hot bolts of blue lightning into the line of Earth Kingdom onagers. On the front lines, the Kyoshi Warriors battled opposing fighters to gain the right flank, while the Dai Li fought to gain control of the left side. In the center, the Earth Kingdom foot soldiers seemed to be making progress, but another onslaught of fire arrows drove them back.

Above, the avatar and the king continued to exchange blows. The avatar shot a flash of fire that the king easily dodged, but his effort distracted him from the funnel of water that pulled him to the ground. Taking advantage of this momentary opportunity, the avatar mixed a wad of earth with a powerful blast of fire. He then spun the massive ball with a blast of air and shot it toward the king. The king looked up at the last second, and…


	2. The Fire Prince

_Author's Note: This Chapter is a flashback set a year prior to the battle scene from the prologue. To allay any confusion, the fanfic will be a flashback until the timeline catches up to the prologue. _

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters. They belong to Mike and Bryan.

The morning sun beat down on the palace…a perfect day for the start of a new school. As a newly established fifteen year-old, Zuko was slated to start his first day of advanced training. No more lighting candles from across the room or heating up kettles of tea for his eccentric uncle while he says "fighting is only a part of the vast mystery that is firebending…you must first master your basics before you can hope to master your opponents".

His Uncle Iroh was a great war hero and a legendary firebender…traits that in Zuko's opinion had been overcome by senescence and an over-emphasis on talk rather than action. In an attempt to subvert any 

attempts at long-winded philosophy, Zuko bade his uncle a quick farewell while practically running toward the door. "What is your rush, Prince Zuko?" his uncle asked, "come, sit and have some spiced dumplings and ginseng tea, you will need energy for your big day today".

Zuko begrudgingly joined Iroh at the table, and began to scarf down his helping. "For someone who seemed to not be hungry, you certainly have quite the appetite" Iroh says. "While I have you here, I must to remind you to heed the words and pace of your bending instructor…Jeong Jeong is a very capable bender and can teach you a lot, but you must respect his methods". _Of course, _Zuko thought, _why wouldn't I listen to my teacher?_ "Of course, Uncle" he said.

As he was speaking, his sister, Azula, entered the room. She was two years older than Zuko to the day, and therefore was two years into her advanced training. She made a habit of performing moves right in front of her brother with a confident smirk, while he looked upon her with jealousy. "I remember my first day of advanced training" she said. "Have fun with Sifu Jeong Jeong…I hope you overcome your biggest challenge…staying AWAKE".

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked as his uncle set a fiery glance at Azula.

"Oh nothing…just that Sifu Jeong Jeong prides himself at keeping his students as unenthused as possible…I hope you enjoy learning the _buta_ formation…for three weeks" she said before she cackled and ran off.

"Do not listen to your headstrong sister," Iroh said, "she forgets that it is was through Master Jeong Jeong's tutelage that she learned her masterful control…besides, your first day will simply be an introduction anyway…simply remember your breathing techniques".

"Yes, Uncle" Zuko replied as he slowly rose from his chair and walked toward the door.

_How can Uncle expect me to simply ignore her? _Zuko thought to himself, _she has always been better than me…she barely studied in basic training and was at the top of her class, while I had to study for hours each night, on top of that, her fire burns stronger than mine, and father sees fit to point out that her fire is blue "just like her daddy's" while I am in the room._

When Zuko arrived at the academy, twenty other advanced students noisily waited in Sifu Jeong Jeong's class: Basic Forms. Zuko did not say a word or even make eye contact as he calmly walked to his desk and sat down. "Look, its Prince Zuko" one student said rather obnoxiously, "how's big sister…oh wait…she told me last night". Zuko's brown eyes burned with anger as he leaped on the boy and began hitting him. The boy kicked him off and began punching him in the stomach. The other students surrounded the pair and chanted. When the boy landed a cheap shot to his groin, Zuko's rage turned into a powerful albeit wild burst of flame.

"ENOUGH!!" a voice cried from the front of the classroom. Sifu Jeong Jeong glided over to the rabble and roughly grabbed Zuko by the collar. "You will soon learn two things Prince Zuko…one, uncontrolled violence in my classroom will be met with firm and swift punishment, and two, your position as crown 

prince gives you no advantage over any other student, and therefore you will be treated as such until you prove yourself otherwise, do I make myself clear?".

"Perfectly", Zuko begrudgingly replied.

"Good, then you will remain here after classes are finished and serve your punishment…I am sure your father will be delighted to hear of your…glowing first day". The other students snickered as Zuko lowered his head in shame and returned to his desk. _I was provoked _he thought to himself, _how is it that the other student did not get punished and I am served with a humiliating detention. On top of it all, what will father say?_

Zuko had to give Azula credit…for once she was actually telling the truth. Sifu Jeong Jeong made what should have been his most exciting class as boring as possible. Instead of rehearsing basic fire forms, the students were instructed simply to sit there while Jeong Jeong looked on with seemingly misplaced attentiveness. Zuko slipped in and out of consciousness as his mind wandered into a lofty daydream.

BWOOONG…BWOOONG… The gong tolled as class had ended. Still hazy from his daydream, Zuko slowly rose from his seat and left the classroom. He gave a sheepish glance back toward Sifu Jeong Jeong, who was deep in meditation, and so he continued to his next lesson: "Great Battles of Fire Nation History".

His instructor spoke about the importance of history in the context of world affairs… "The world has not always been peaceful. Past generations have been engulfed in turbulent wars that have reshaped the lines of our world many times over. Often, single battles have succeeded in changing the world, but these battles are not just about fire and brimstone falling from the sky. Sometimes, the most important military engagements have been supported by strong political decisions. It was this strong diplomacy coupled with brilliant military leaders that enabled Fire Lord Sozin to triumph over the rogue Avatar Roku and make the Capital City the sole center of power in the Fire Nation."

A girl in the back named Mai raised her hand and asked in a somber, monotonic voice: "If Fire Lord Sozin defeated Avatar Roku, then wouldn't there have been another Avatar by now?" Zuko had never seen such an appealing girl. Her long raven hair stretched down below her waistline, slightly covering her pale, softly defined face. Her body was hidden by her unusually large robes, but Zuko had no problem using his imagination. On top of it all, her seemingly unenthused, pessimistic mannerisms coupled with her obvious intelligence was strangely appealing to the young Prince.

"Excellent question, Mai" the teacher said, interrupting Zuko's musings, "historical documentation on the battle reports that Sozin's final lightning strike hit Avatar Roku while he was in his Avatar State, which would mean…"

"That the Avatar line would be eliminated and thus the avatar would cease to exist" chimed in an unusually cheery and enthusiastic girl from the front of the classroom.

"Very good, Ty Lee" said the teacher, "but I encourage you in the future to not interrupt someone else's sentence, it is rude."

"Sorry, I will try to be more polite next time," the girl responded as she bowed respectfully.

With that, the gong rang again and so class was over. The rest of the day unfortunately went by quickly. Zuko could barely think during "Great Fire Lords", "History of the Earth Kingdom", and "Ballistic Arms 101." He became increasingly concerned about his father's response to his transgressions earlier in the day. As the final bell rang, Zuko slowly moseyed down the road, conflicted as to whether he would rather get there fast so that it was over or get there slowly and forestall his punishment. As he walked up the path toward the front door, his sister Azula sat legs crossed on the handsome dragon statue that was perched on the right side of the entryway. When she saw Zuko, she traded her jovial humming for a devilish grin. "Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu…firebending at another student on the first day…part of me is humbled by the display of affection toward me, but that part has been conquered by the other part of me that points and laughs loudly at your impending doom".

_Ignore her…Ignore her…Ignore her…_thought Zuko as he walked past his sister while she cackled. He walked up to the doors of his father's chamber and stood there for what seemed like an eternity. Then, he finally opened the door…

_Coming Soon, Chapter 2: The Frozen Feminist_


End file.
